The Gift
by GoldenJedi
Summary: A night from ten years ago comes back to haunt Tycho Celchu.


_This story is a direct sequel to **Darth_Breezy**'s **In A World Full of Nothing**_ _(check my favs stories) so please go and read that one before going on! You won't regret it... **GJ**_

***

**The Gift**

Tycho Celchu pressed again the chime on the Solo's door. He could hear the music and voices inside still nobody had answered his first call.

He had been detained by his obligations as Rogue Leader late in the afternoon and he had encouraged Winter to go ahead and join the celebrations without him, and apparently, they were well underway. He was about to press the buzzer again when suddenly the door swooshed open and a young, dark-haired girl in a red dress looked up at him with big, expressive blue eyes. A wide grin spread through her fair features. "You're my uncle Ty, aren't you?" And without further explanation, she launched herself at him.

"Hey, there little girl," the surprised pilot managed to gasp before being wrapped in a big, Wookiee-style hug. As soon as he regained his balance, he dropped a knee to the floor so he could talk to the young lady face to face. The little girl took that as an invitation to sit on his thigh, and properly introduce herself.

"I'm Pemberian Canaille Skywalker," she giggled. "I'm ten years old and I was born on Corellia! Auntie Winter and Mama told me a lot about you... How you fought together, how you chased the bad guys with your X-wing... Just like my Pay-Pa..."

"Hey, little Pilot," a tender hand was placed on the girl's small shoulder, interrupting her tirade which did not seem to be winding down any time soon. "Let your Uncle come in at least."

"Luke," the Alderaanian greeted, standing up and transferring the excited Pem from his arms to those of her father. "Sorry I was not able to say hello earlier, I was..."

"In a hurry, I know," Luke smiled warmly. "Winter told us. Come in, everybody's on the terrace..."

As they approached the opened doors to the balcony the music and the voices grew louder.

"Han! Come here right now!" Princess Leia Organa squeaked rather uncharacteristically from across the room.

"What? What's happening?" Her Corellian husband choked, spilling Whyren's Reserve on Lando Calrissian's silky shirt as he turned around sharply. "Is it time?"

The dark-skinned man laughed at his friend's blanched face and slapped his back. "Everything under control, right, old friend?" He mumbled.

"No!" Leia laughed, her arms folding protectively around her huge belly. "Not yet! But Winter just told me she's pregnant! Can you believe it? I want you to take a holo of her, Aubé and myself together before its too late!"

"Winter? Pregnant? When?" Han Solo repeated confusedly, watching all the women at the party gather together around the white-haired woman, talking and laughing excitedly to each other. The men coalesced similarly around Tycho, slapping him merciless while offering the new father-to-be all kind of advice regarding pregnant women.

//

Tycho savored slowly an Alderaanian ale in the relative quietness of the big apartment's terrace. The night air had gotten too cold for the ladies and they had suggested moving the party indoors.

The anniversary of the Battle of Endor – Liberation Day - was always a big occasion at the Solo's household, even now that the Princess had stepped down as Chief of State. But for him, as for most of those who had actively participated in the war, the day's celebrations awoke a whole range of feelings, both sad and happy.

The past two days had been full of old memories, and some moments that would become the memories of days yet to come.

He could not believe that all ready eleven years had passed by since that day. And now... Another stage of his life was about start. He was going to be a father.

Winter had told him just last night, when he had arrived from his last mission. It had been a real surprise, because even if they had been trying to start a family for some time now, the time they had spent together in the last months had been so scarce that the probabilities had been quite small. He could not repress the spike of male smugness at the thought that in spite of it, they had done it. _He_ had done it.

His mind wandered back to the morning and the memorial service held for all those who died in that battle. In sheer numbers, it had been even more costly than Yavin, because not only the Death Star II was bigger and with more personnel in it than the first, but also whole Ewok tribes had been obliterated as well as entire squads and several Alliance ships.

From Green Squadron only _Nails_ and he had survived and that was a fact that, one way or the other, had bonded them together in a way that their previous quarters' sharing as squad mates had not. Something else had happened that night, not love, far from it – but it had been right at the time, and it was something he had come to accept as an integral part of what war was. Blood, sweat, tears, friendships and relationships born and destroyed under fire. It would not be the first time that two pilots went to bed together after a close call with death, and it would not be the last.

"Everything alright, Null?"

Few people still called him by his old designation. One of them was Aubé Canaille. [i]_Canaille-Skywalker_, these days, actually.[/i] he realized. "Just takin' some fresh air, Nails..."

The short woman sled her fingers through her short, dark hair and laughed. "Everybody wanted to toast for the baby, right? Luke went through the same."

The blonde Alderaanian smiled warmly. "Yep, the rule seems to be the more you drink the less you think about it..."

"Scared?"

"Not really..." He shook his head. "Not yet..."

Aubé slapped his shoulder encouragingly.

"Ow!"

"Too much of that too, uh?"

"Yeah..."

"Just like after Endor..."

An uncomfortable silence descended between them. Tycho took a long swig on his beer and only afterwards he seemed to remember his manners. "Can I bring you something?"

Aubé shook her head. "I'm fine," she whispered, rubbing her rounded stomach unconsciously. Again the silence downed on them.

The Alderaanian pilot cleared his throat. "How long till the new Skywalker lands?"

_Nails_ smiled softly. "Around a month more... Unless he decides to beat his cousins to it... Which I wouldn't mind, really..." She added with a grimace on her face, rubbing the place on her belly where something protruded alarmingly under the delicate silk of her tunic. She had discarded the mandatory dress jacket she had worn earlier in the afternoon, when the Corellian Bloodstripes had been granted to her, but she still wore the trousers with gold piping under the tunic. "Wrong hatch, ya hear me, kid? Nose south and afterburners up, that's the way to do it!" She addressed her unborn baby.

"Still remember when you tried teaching Elou that inverted corkscrew trick of yours! I thought he'll never pull it, but you didn't leave him in peace until he did it."

A wicked smile spread on her face but was soon eclipsed by a sadder look. "It didn't save him anyway..."

The blue-eyed force of nature called Pemberian chose that moment to dash into the terrace, almost knocking her mother down. "Here you are!"

"Hey, hey, slow down, young lady," Aubé laughed, retreating to the comfort of a lounging chair. Pem snuggled by her, but could not stay quiet for more than a minute. "Go jump over your uncle, sweetie. My bladder can't take both of you at the same time... And he could use some warming up," she added with a wink to her former squad mate.

"Sorry, Mama," Pem said softly. As she slipped away she brushed a kiss on her mother's belly. "Be nice to her, ok?" She whispered.

"Jump over here, kiddo," Tycho said softly, bringing a second lounger closer. Within minutes the girl was asleep in his arms. "Whoa, that was fast," he murmured.

"She doesn't like to sleep; she thinks it's a waste of time, so she fights it as much as she can..."

"Sounds like someone I know..."

"Here you are," a cultured voice interrupted. "Seems your number one fan girl found you again, flyboy," Winter smiled, crouching by her husband.

"Chewie's already feeling jealous..." Aubé smiled, her eyes tactfully diverging away from the couple. Since her arrival in Coruscant, the Alderaanian's sincere affection and willingness to baby-sit Pem had gained her as well. She was glad Ty had found her. Even if they were not sensitives, their love certainly shone in the Force like a beacon.

The white haired woman brushed away a dark lock from the girl's forehead. "Ready to go home, love?" She addressed Tycho, her soft green eyes locking on his, full of promise and intent.

//

Rogue Leader; also know as Tycho Celchu, rolled away from his wife panting heavily. For the love of the Goddess, he thought wearily, what his friends had conspiratorially whispered about pregnant women appetites was nothing but the truth.

The pregnant lady in question wrapped herself around her husband with a satisfied sigh. "That was fantastic..." She mumbled, caressing softly the hard planes of his chest. "I love you, Ty..."

"Love you too, honey." His roughened fingers threaded through her silver mane.

"You know what?"

"Hm-hm..." Exhaustion was catching up with him; just opening his eyes was such an effort...

"You looked so... wonderful with Pem asleep in your arms earlier, for a moment I thought I had been caught in some anomaly and sent a few years forward..."

"Hm-hm..."

"Isn't that funny? Everybody says Leia, Aubé and I could pass for sisters... And we know you've been mistaken for Luke a few times..."

"I'm taller..." Tycho grumbled.

"Yes, you are, dear," Winter laughed. "But what I was pointing at is that maybe our baby will look like Pem, you know? After all the blue in her eyes is more like yours than Luke's... You could pass for Pem's father any day..."

//

Tycho downed his fourth cup of caf and rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands.

He had been not able to sleep at all but thankfully Winter had not noticed. The memories of two nights eleven years apart from each other had haunted him well into the early hours of the morning, when he had fled from the apartment before his wife woke up.

_I'm Pemberian Canaille Skywalker and I'm ten._

_You could pass for Pem's father any day..._

_It's done, Ty. There's nothing to be said._

Of course he had known, even before that Endor night that _Nails_ harbored feelings for Commander Skywalker that went beyond simple admiration or friendship. Rumor had it that they had been involved for a short time at some point after the fall of the Empire. And nobody knew why Aubé had waited until less than a year ago to tell Luke that they had had a daughter together. What if...? What if the reason was that she did not know who the father was? What if she _did _know?

_It's done, Ty. There's nothing to be said._

Maybe she had kept her end of the bargain to the last consequences? How well did he know Nails Canaille after all? Was she the kind of woman to make one man's child pass for another's? Had she lied to Luke or was he aware of it? Had Luke married her because of the girl?

All the alternatives seemed so crazy... Was _he_ going crazy? He _had_ gotten Winter pregnant with only a few tries after all... After so long, he couldn't remember if he was up to date with his repress shots at that time... The med staff used to keep track of those things and add the contraceptives to the regular vaccines and nutrition supplements the pilots needed...

A soft knock on his door interrupted his train of thoughts.

"Ty? Can I come in?"

//

He had made a mistake bringing Aubé to lunch at the Pilot's Lounge, that was clear.

She had come into his office, invited him to lunch and did not accept a 'no' for an answer.

"C'mon, _Null_, my treat, in a few days I'll be off to Corellia and later Naboo and who knows when we'll have another chance... And I'm HUNGRY! You don't say no to a hungry pregnant lady, hasn't Winter told you that already?"

So he had brought her to the first place that had crossed his mind.

"Have they never seen a girl pilot before?" Nails whispered furious.

"A pregnant, Jedi pilot with Corellian stripes who happens to be Luke Skywalker's wife?" Tycho laughed almost against himself. "I don't think that's very usual, even around here..."

"Jedi _student_," Aubé Canaille corrected and rearranged the lightsaber on her thigh self-consciously. "I don't know how the Princess does it. I'll never get used to..."

"The public side?" The press had stalked Luke and her heavily after the assassination attempt on the Chief of State but things had calmed down lately. "I think they're just impressed now that what you did with the _Blue Mynocks_ has come to light."

"Any of them would have done the same." The woman in front of him blushed and concentrated on her soup.

It was odd how changed she was in some ways and not in others. On the outside she still seemed the old smart mouthed, loud, boisterous girl he'd known during the Rebellion years but looking closer you could see there was so much more to her now. What had triggered the change? Maternity? Luke? Or something else? Whatever it was, whatever she had done, the things she had pulled in the months she'd been in command of the _Blues_ had been way beyond duty.

"That's not true and you know it, Nails. They didn't give you that gold piping because they would look nice on your pants or because of your famous in-laws. Corellians are not like that. You've got them because you earned them. And you wouldn't be wearing them if you thought otherwise."

"I only accepted them because of my father," she answered angrily, one hand falling protectively on her stomach.

The Alderaanian pilot swallowed hard. He had forgotten all about Aubé's father. "I'm sorry..."

"Never mind, Null. I just... Yesterday was a tough day. Too many memories, you know?"

"I know..."

A colorful Corellian epithet left her lips suddenly. "Damn it, this soup smells exactly like Ryack's socks! We had better cooking on the _Santana_!"

"That's why, right?" His clear blue eyes fixed on her brown ones.

"What?"

"All that risky shavit..."

Aubé Canaille did not answer.

"I was there, _Nails_, I know!"

_I'm tired of death. Everywhere we look…_

At last, she nodded vaguely. Without looking at him, she started talking hoarsely. "After Blue Leader went down, I got a field promotion... I just couldn't let it happen again... Not on my watch..." A single tear slid down her cheek and she brushed it away angrily.

"And you did it, even if you were pregnant..."

"What?"

"C'mon, _Nails_, even I can do some math..."

"Well, you're wrong. I was not pregnant at the time."

"You don't need to lie to me, we're friends..."

"Why would I lie to you?" She had raised her voice and a few heads turned in their direction.

Tycho lowered his voice to a whisper. "I can understand... You were always in love with Luke and we..."

"I don't even know what you're talking about! I thought you were my friend, Ty! But you obviously bought all that bantha dung that the holo-shills spread around..." She replied indignantly.

"Aubé, I need to know!" He pleaded.

"What, exactly?" Aubé arched a shapely eyebrow. Ty could tell that she understood _exactly_ what he was referring to, but seemed determined to make him say it.

"If she's... If she's _ours_..."

"Who?"

"Pemberian."

Aubé Canaille's eyes narrowed. "Ty, have you been smoking Rhyll Spice?"

"She's ten years old, _Nails_, she told me herself last night..." Tycho murmured painfully. This was the hardest thing he had ever done, something he had never expected to be doing. Still, even less expected was his former squad mate reaction.

Unexpectedly, and all at once, she started to laugh. Hard. And harder still. And looked at him and laughed again until she clutched her stomach when a strong contraction gripped at her.

The Rogue pilot jumped from his seat. Damn, what had he done? "Are you alright? Do I call Luke?"

Aubé breathed heavily and moved her hand negatively. "Sit down and stop being silly... It's just a false one... I think. It's alright. Just give me a minute."

He did as she asked, watching as she breathed more and more easily. What a mess.

"Ty, I appreciate your... interest," Nails started after a while. "You have to understand, Pem has lived in Corellia all her life, she's not very used to the Galactic Standard Calendar... It's true, she's ten years old..." She made a dramatic pause and continued. "...In Corellian years, which are a little shorter than the galactic ones. In Standard years, she's only eight and a half, so... Believe me; I'm sure she's Luke's."

Tycho Celchu buried his face in his hands. He'd never live this one down.

"Bet you didn't sleep even for one minute last night, uh?"

He shook his head. "I don't know how to apologize, _Nails_, I..."

"Don't. I'll be happy enough if we never ever mention this again," she said seriously. "But I'll be MORE happy if you buy me lunch someplace else with decent food... Whaddaya say?" She drawled, winking at him.

Tycho's face lit brightly, a huge weight lifted from his shoulders. "I'll say that Jedi of yours has been spoiling you, but, hey," he stood and offered her gallantly his arm. "Who am I to go against a pregnant lady's wishes? Specially," he added, returning her wink, "when she's got a lightsaber?"

"Old age suits you, _Null_," Aubé said as they left. "You're getting wise... And your and Winter's baby will be very proud to have a dad like you one day... I think you have a gift for it."

THE END


End file.
